£30 a Minute!

[expediteoff]

According to the Chris Evans radio programme (so it must be true), it costs £30/minute in fuel to hold whilst awaiting an approach into Heathrow.

Let's see, 4 stacks, 6 levels available equals 24 aircraft holding.
Bingo!! £720 a minute disappearing in circles!

Let's hope the well motivated staff don't have to slow things down at all when that new Tower is eventually opened.

[Gary Lager]

If the aircraft in question were Medium Twinjets (have aguess which ones I mean) burning Shell unleaded (purchased on the forecourt in the UK) then it'd be about right. Either that or the aircraft in question all have 8 engines and have the gear down.

What was the agenda of the chap who came up with that one?

[PAXboy]

Interesting that someone is trying to put the cost on this into public discussion - it is something that I have been wanting to know for ages.

If the govt wants to cut back on fuel emissions, one option is to set a maximum number of a/c in the hold of LTMA at any given time. Of course that is never going to happen.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Some of us can remember the days when a certain well-known airline insisted on holding when all stacks were empty simply because they didn't have the staff to man the stands! I trust those days are long gone..

One problem, so I was told, is that passengers want to arrive at certain times. Hence much holding early morning and in the evening but often during the middle of the day there are quiet periods..

[WHBM]

Some of us can remember the days ...... One problem, so I was told, is that passengers want to arrive at certain times. Hence much holding early morning and in the evening but often during the middle of the day there are quiet periods..
HD, I am afraid those days are gone as well now. Whatever the current flow rate is for Heathrow (about 45 in and 45 out per hour, others here will have it), it is pretty much constantly up at this limit all day long, certainly between 6.30 am and 9.00 pm say. The airlines have over the years adapted the markets they serve to the slots they can get.

Certainly some holding near to 6.00 am inbound from those who arrive with no night slot (or they have them but want to save them for a suddenly-needed middle of the night movement).

[Heathrowinnit]

I was recently told that the cost of operating the average passenger airliner, for an airline, is around £54.00 per minute.
This includes such things as fuel, staff costs etc I assume...I don't think it includes amortisation or delay losses due to lost rotations etc.

[teleport]

And on the ground? What might the cost of ??? APUs humming away @ LHR for minutes if not hours be? (That in addition to Sir Richard's idea of being towed to take-off).

[Wingswinger]

Let's see:

For A320 variants - average burn per holding pattern = 180kg or 36kg/min.
36kg = 45lt = 9.899 gallons
9.899 gallons x USD 1.728 = USD 17.105 = GBP 9.00
So, £9 per minute for a modern, efficient, medium shorthaul jet which far outnumbers the heavies in the skies around London.

Now take an representative passenger load of 120. That's 7.5p per minute per passenger or £4.50 per hour.

In an hour, a family car might cover 70 miles at 35 mpg which is 2 gallons.
The cost of 2 gallons of 4-star is:
£0.88 x 4.5459 x 2 = £8.00

The jet begins to look good doesn't it?

And before anyone tells me, I know that Jet A1 isn't taxed!
Chris Evans is a p*****r.

[Gonzo]

HD/WHBM,

As far as I know, it is still SOP in that airline not to arrive more than 20 minutes early. I think now though it's virtually unseen by TC as judicious adjustment of cruising speed now achieves the result.

Let's hope the well motivated staff don't have to slow things down at all when that new Tower is eventually opened.

Let's hope the well motivated staff are given a decent flight data display system that is not loaded with so many bugs that both the Heathrow ATC Technical Committee and SRG express surprise and concern.

Oh no, too late.:ugh:

[F900EX]

Lads relax.. The reason Chris Evans brought this up is purely based on the fact he recently acquired a new A319 and he plans to fly it himself.

I guess he wanted to get his head clearly around the numbers.

[Baron buzz]

Why not build a new runway, cap LHR's movements to roughly what they are now, and there you have it - reduced holding, less fuel burn, less carbon emissions, less delays. The greenies are happy, operators are happy, public who arrive with less delay are happy. Where is the problem? I'm sure i'm missing something........

[A4]

Agreed Baron. The one thing green lobby and "NIMBY's" seem to (convieniently) forget is the effect the amount of holding has on emmissions. It could be plausibly argued that additional runway capacity in the South East will infact reduce emissions because of improved flow = reduced delays = less emissions. So aren't the anti's actually making the situation worse...?

At some point a runway WILL be built in the SE England. Fact. The inevitable public enquiry into the second runway at STN will delay it by a couple more years at least - probably be ready 6-12 months after the Olympics have finished :D

Aviation will only ever be a small part of the solution to global warming ..... because it is only a small part of the problem - another point convieniently the greens.

I do not deny that we must all do our bit - and I do. But I'm tired of being depicted as the anti-christ by certain elements (many of whom are hypocrites...) because of my chosen career.

A4 :hmm:

[Gonzo]

Why not build a new runway, cap LHR's movements to roughly what they are now, and there you have it - reduced holding, less fuel burn, less carbon emissions, less delays.

The operators certainly won't be happy with that!

[Baron buzz]

Gonzo,

They would surely be happier with that, than not building anything at all? Atleast if you did build a new strip (even with capped movements), the operators would be more efficient, reduce their costs (fuel) and not have bored pilots flying around in the hold for ages!!

The greenies would also be happier, although they wouldnt understand at first, because there would be less pollution from holding aircraft, both in the air and on the ground. Everyones a winnner??

Of course, the best solution (for me as a pilot) would be to build runways at LGW/LHR/STN!!! I doubt that will happen!!:confused:

[WHBM]

The greenies are happy
An oxymoron, surely ? :)

[Gonzo]

Sorry, I meant that the operators wouldn't be happy that millions and millions of there money (through charges) was used to build a new runway, and yet they aren't permitted to use any of the extra capacity.

[Kolibear]

In an hour, a family car might cover 70 miles at 35 mpg which is 2 gallons.
The cost of 2 gallons of 4-star is:
£0.88 x 4.5459 x 2 = £8.00


On rural roads or around town, a car might average 40mph, on motorways and 'A' roads, that rises to 60mph.